I recently learned that well heads should be about a foot or more about ground; ours is only about 3-4" above ground. The well drillers said we really should have it raised and have a better cap put on. This all makes sense but raising it is apparently quite costly. Would it be just as well to dig around the well head to increase the distance from the top of the well head to the ground? We already have a cover that goes all around it to prevent larger animals getting into the well head.
Is it ok to lower grade around a well head instead of raising it
wellwell-pump
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We did turn off the water last night and the power to the water pump and found that over a couple hours time we lost all the water in our reserve tank. Does this sound like a leak to you?
Maybe. Was the reservoir tank cut off (like with a valve) from draining back down the well? If there is a check valve, is it in good working order? If not, it is hard to say whether the reservoir fed a leak or just emptied back into the well.
To more definitively indicate if well water is causing the observed ground water, turn off the pump, close all the water valves (to prevent water flowing out of the pump house) and wait. Observe the ground water level every hour or two—maybe put in a stake or stick in the hole to better track it. Does the water go down? If so, a leak seems likely.
Leak detection
Doing a standard pipe pressure test would indicate quickly and conclusively identify whether there is a leak anywhere. It requires containing the pipe under test by closing valves or disconnecting and capping pipe, adding a gauge or other measuring device, and pressurizing the pipe, perhaps with a bicycle tire pump—a gas pipe pressure testing gauge has an air valve for this purpose; I haven't seen anything directly comparable for water pipes. Then just wait and watch. The pressure should remain, dropping no more than 5% per hour. (In my experience, temporary caps and a gauge for leak testing are the source of most pressure testing leaks. Generously apply plumbers tape.)
Finding a leak
If a leak is detected, then there are several choices to fix it find it and fix it. Which you choose depends on the specific situation, your budget, and your patience:
- dig up all the pipe to inspect for leaks
- abandon the existing pipe and install new
- Sherlock Holmes
The first two are self-explanatory. The third involves looking for clues. Can you isolate part of the system—the hot water portion is an easy and obvious example—and see if leak continues? Maybe there is another portion: outdoor faucets, sprinkler system, barn, etc. which can be individually cut off from the main system.
A leak is most likely to develop at a pipe joint and the location of joints are reasonably predictable. If the pipe is PVC for example, it usually comes in 10 foot lengths (at least in the U.S.—but if it is freezing where you are, probably you are south of the equator so some other length—3 m?—applies), so you only need dig a hole every pipe joint to check—at least with good luck.
Also consider any recent changes if it got worse: Has a fence post been installed or did a tree fall? Dig around there for to look for pipe.
A "heat wrap thing" sounds like the cheese they sell at the big-box shops. Cheap and ugly and not very good. Take it back.
The right way: good heat tape
First, use the good stuff. It's called self-regulating heat tape , that is, it reduces its own power as temperature rises. Effectively shuts off at 150F, which means you won't boil out your pipe if the thing goes crazy. You probably want the highest wattage you can get, e.g. 10 watts per foot, and spiral it nice. Obviously, get the 240V heat tape.
McMaster shows the variety available.
You'll need to make those electrical connections correctly for this wet location.
If you want, you could put a thermostat on it. 240V thermostats are cheap and readily available, used for baseboard heaters. Getting one fit for outdoor use might be trickier.
After the pipe is wrapped with the heat tape, wrap both with foam pipe insulation. You'd only want to do that with the "good" self-regulating heat tape. Otherwise the insulation would only help the cheapie heat tape go into thermal runaway and set the insulation on fire.
The wood housing lined with insulation is a good idea, probably better than the concrete top. The light bulb was a silly way to do it, not least, the bulb will burn out and you'd never be wise.
Try to keep water out of the area. Maybe make a weatherproof cover that goes over lid and walls.
Or maybe light bulbs after all
Here's an alternate way to approach the light bulb method. Install three incandescent lamp sockets. Here's the tricky part: Wire all 3 sockets in series across the 240V. Hot----lamp 1----lamp 2-----lamp 3----Hot. Three matched bulbs in series will run 1/3 the voltage, or 80 volts. So you can use common 120V bulbs. And at the lower voltage, they'll burn exponentially longer. But since they're in series, if one goes out, they all go out. The bulbs will burn at slightly less than half their rated wattage.
Related Topic
- Plumbing – Intermittent Water Pressure on a Well
- Electrical – Lowest height accepted for 30A Outdoor Fused Safety Switch for water well
- Wiring – Splice in buried line to well
- Water Pressure – Pressure Cycling and Suspected Ruptured Line Issues
- The difference between a cheap and a more expensive submersible well pump
- Well pump issues for irrigation system
- Plumbing – put the pressure tank over 200’ from the well head
Best Answer
A Thousand to weld an extension , wow! I agree that the well casing should be above ground. As long as the ground water doesn’t get within 1” of the top I would not mess with it. For example my last house the casing was at ground level. I was on the side of a mountain I dug the high side down a few inches then graded the low side away even with the heaviest rains the water flowing down the hill never got close so it was fine. It may have been ok but I would rather a little safety margin.
If you don’t have high water issues I would say it is ok. I would protect it so it is not a spot that a dog can pee on it. We always put wishing well structures there if not in a well house. One really neat one I saw had a artificial bolder over it it looked really neat for that area.
So if you don’t have high water issues I would not worry. If you do have water over the cap I would probably find someone else a bit more reasonable To extend the casing.